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Justin Trudeau still hopeful of inking trade deal with Europe

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hopes for a last-minute breakthrough that will allow Canada’s sweeping trade deal with the European Union to be signed this week, despite objections that have put the agreement in doubt.

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Belgium is unable to sign off on a landmark EU-Canada free trade deal after Wallonia and other regional administrations refused to give the federal government the go-ahead, says Prime Minister Charles Michel.

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding out hope for a last-minute breakthrough that will allow Canada’s sweeping trade deal with the European Union to be signed this week, despite objections that have put the agreement in doubt.

But the signing ceremony planned for Thursday appears in jeopardy after Belgium declared Monday it would be unable to endorse the trade agreement because of ongoing objections by the regional government of Wallonia.

Belgium is the single holdout among the 28-nation union, but the country’s inability to give the deal its blessing puts the trade pact on hold.

International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland insisted Monday that the deal, known as the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), is not dead.

But she stressed that it’s up to the Europeans — not Canadians — to engage in the 11th-hour bargaining to resolve concerns that have derailed the agreement, billed as Canada’s most ambitious trade pact ever.

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“Canada is ready to sign now. We’ve done our job. Now it’s up to Europe to do its job,” Freeland told reporters on Parliament Hill.

Protestors in Ppland march against CETA (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement). Belgium is the single holdout among the 28-nation EU, but the country’s inability to give the deal its blessing puts the trade pact on hold.
(AGENCJA GAZETA / REUTERS)

“We were encouraged to hear from the Europeans today, both in public and in private, that they are working hard to get this deal done, that Europe is now hard at work to do its job and we wish them every success,” she said.

She repeatedly refused to say what might happen if the complaints aren’t resolved and Thursday’s deadline passes with the deal unsigned.

Seven years in the making, the landmark trade agreement has been put on hold by the concerns voiced by the local government of Wallonia, a francophone region in Belgium of 3.5 million people. Those concerns appear to centre on worries that the agreement would undermine labour, environment and consumer standards.

Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, had given Belgium a deadline to declare whether it had resolved the concerns and would be able to back the trade pact.

On Monday, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel announced that with Wallonia’s objections still outstanding, his country would be unable to endorse the trade agreement.

“We have been asked to give a clear answer today,” Michel said after meeting with Wallonia’s leader Paul Magnette.

“And the clear answer, at this stage, is ‘no,’ ” Michel said, according to a report from The Associated Press.

The declaration puts a question mark over Trudeau’s planned trip to Brussels for an event Thursday to mark the signing of the deal.

But Tusk, who spoke with Trudeau Monday, took to social media to say that the ceremony might still be possible.

“Together with PM @JustinTrudeau, we think Thursday’s summit still possible. We encourage all parties to find a solution. There’s yet time,” Tusk said on Twitter.

That was echoed in a later statement from Trudeau’s office.

“Leaders agreed that the EU and its member states should continue to work towards the Summit on Thursday where the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement will be signed,” the statement said.

“They agreed to stay in close contact in the coming hours and days,” it said.

On Monday, Freeland defended her decision to walk away, saying the dramatic move was the “right and necessary thing to do.”

“Our strong action had the desired results. Today, all the Europeans, including the Walloons, have publicly accepted that Canada’s job is done,” Freeland said.

“The ball is in Europe’s court and Europe must now do its job,” she said.

Yet in the Commons Monday, the Conservatives tried to pin the blame on the Liberals.

Conservative MP Gerry Ritz accused Freeland — who was near tears in announcing the collapse of talks Friday — of having a “meltdown.”

“Since the trade minister is incapable or unwilling to do her job and ratify this vital trade deal, will the prime minister grab some adult supervision, get on a plane, and go back over to Brussels and get this job done,” Ritz said during question period.

But Freeland fired back that the previous Conservative government failed to finalize the agreement and that it took changes negotiated by Trudeau’s government to finally bring European holdouts on side.

In Canada, the politicians of Wallonia have a sympathetic ear among critics of the trade deal.

New Democrat MP Tracey Ramsey, her party’s trade critic, said the Liberals should heed what she called the “legitimate concerns” raised about the pact.

“The minister should accept that she has an opportunity to address the problems with the current agreement,” Ramsey said in a statement.

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